About the Department

Mission

Girdwood Fire and Rescue's primary mission is to provide Fire, Rescue and EMS services to the Girdwood Fire Service District and the Turnagain Arm Community.

Public Education & Training

October is Fire Prevention Month, but we participate in public outreach throughout the entire calendar year. We often visit the Girdwood Elementary School and provide age-appropriate presentations on fire prevention and life safety. We provide educational tours of the fire station to the general public, for all types of groups and ages - from the Little Bears preschoolers to adults. We are also active with the Boy Scouts of America, providing course material suitable for Merit Badges.

We hold EMS and Fire certification courses for our Members. Occasionally we have classes open to the public. In-house training is offered for members to receive three levels of EMT certifications, two levels of firefighter certifications and many additional certifications that help improve the level and quality of care provided.

History

Originally established in 1959, the fire department provided fire protection services with a military surplus jeep and a WWII era 250 gallon per minute (gpm) "duce and a half". Girdwood EMS was established in 1974 after two Alyeska resort employees were attacked and seriously wounded. It took over an hour and half for an ambulance and medics to arrive from Anchorage to treat the victims. Local Girdwood residents organized and petitioned the Municipality of Anchorage to provide an ambulance allowing the Fire Department to provide Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in Girdwood. Past Fire Chief John Trautner conducted Girdwood's first EMT class that fall. In 1978, a new fire station was constructed and two new Segrave/FWD 750 gpm Fire Engines were purchased.

In 1998 with the help of the community, Girdwood Volunteer Fire & Rescue was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization and contracted by the Municipality of Anchorage to provide EMS, fire and rescue services for Girdwood and the surrounding area.

Response Area

Girdwood is a rural community in Alaska. Our coverage area consists of 172 square miles with a population of 2800 residents and also encompasses hundreds of square miles of irreplaceable, environmentally sensitive wilderness areas. Roughly 95% of the land is public. We are the first responder to any incident involving the transportation corridor that contains the Alaska Railroad, the Seward Highway and the ENSTAR gas transmission pipeline. This corridor also contains the longest (2.5 miles) combination car and train tunnel in the United States, serving the critical deep water port at Whittier.

The Girdwood service area is located in a major seismic zone famous for the 1964 9.2 earthquake. Terrain ranges from 7000 feet in elevation to sea level at the shore of Turnagain Arm of the Pacific Ocean. Mutual aid is also given and or received to the following departments and agencies: Anchorage Fire Department, Hope Fire Department, Cooper Landing Fire Department, Whittier Fire Department, Alaska Mountain Rescue Group, State Of Alaska Division of Forestry and the Alaska State Troopers.